Package



March 2, 1948.

M. T. MARLER PACKAGE Filed June 24, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet l BY F Q.

..,,,....,,..,. .....mlJ 701v fjMA/aee,

ATioRNEY.

March 2, 194 8. M. T. MARLER PACKAGE 2 Shets-Sheet 2 Filed June 24, 1944 L T .III IIL INVENTOR 114,421.52,

Ill/.4. 701v BY TTORNEY.

Patented Mar. 2, 1948 UNITED SVTATESQEPATENT OFFICE,

I PACKAGE JT'V' Marler, Los Angeles, Calif. Application June 24, 1944, Serial No. 541,864, ,1

1 Claim. -1 My. invention relatesto paper. or cardboard packages, and it has for a purpose theprovision of apackage more'particularly designed, although not necessarily, for the wrapping of articles of merchandise incident to the sale thereof in stores, I

and. -which-is characterized by eliminating the necessity "of employing; fastening means such as gummed tape, cord-metal fasteners, or by glueing .any' part of thev package. and through the provisionofa fastening means which, while of paper or, any-othermaterial of which the package is-.-made,' is :efliective to retain the package closed against accidental opening and in enveloping form about the article, whereby the packaged article can be handled, carried, and eventransmitted through the mail without loss of the article fromthe package.

In one embodimentofmy invention the. fasteningmeansis an integral part of the package and is formed concurrently with cutting the pack- Referring specifically to the drawings the. preferred embodiment of my invention shown in Figs. 1- to 6 comprises a blank. sheet S 'of relatively heavy paper or cardboard, depending upon the particular type of article of merchandise which'it is adapted to contain. As .shown' in Fig- 1," all parts of the package of which. itisforined' are integral parts. of the sheet S,..and, hence,. may bev cut in a single operation. by the ,useiof a suitabledien The package, in'this' instance, ismade up of a back section 15,. alfiont section 7 [6, 'a closure flap I], and'twoendfiaps l8. Theifr'ont section 6. may .be of the same length as the'bak section-1.5,..but is ,of less'width andgi's fo'ldable along the .scoredline J9 soias to .overliefthel'back section l5. Similarly,. the, end 'sectionsflB are foldable along scored lines I911 soas to-overlie the back section I; and to be disposed beneath-the front sectionf IS in the manner "illustratd'fin Fig. 2. ,'The closure flap ll'may be of-ithesamie age from'a blank sheet. In another embodiment a part of the fastening meansis separately formed and secured to-the package. In .either embodiment the package .isstructurally simple so that it can be manufactured cheaply, and the fastening, means is such that it can be easily fastened and unfastened, and yet when fastenedis locked against accidental unfastening. I .I will describe only two forms of packages each embodying my invention, and will then point out the novel features thereof in claims.

.. Inthe' accompanying drawings:

Fig; 1 is a plan viewiofthe blank from which the packa'geiof Fig '3 .is formed. Fig. 2 is a view showing the package of Fig. 3 with the closurefiap in open position.

Fig. 3.is a view showing the preferred form of package in closed'and locked position.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

'-Fig-. 5 is an enlarged transverse sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 isaNiQW-similart o Fig. 5 showing the initial step engaging the parts of the fastening means of the package. V. Fig. 7 isaviewsimilar'to Fig, 1 showing another forinof packageemb'o'dying my invention. Fig.;8'is a view similar to Figg'2 of the package showniin Fig; I

Fig; 9 is aiview of the package'of Fig. 8 in closed and locked position. v "17' Figflo' is ari'enlargedtransverse sectional view taken'onthe Iine'I'U- I'ObfFigJQ;

Similar references refer to similar parts in each of the several views.

length as both the back section wand the front section IE, but! of lesslwidththan-(the frontsection I6. Thisjfiap. I'I is'foldablealong the scored .line 19b so as to overliethefree marginal. edge of the front section '16, as illustrated in Fig'L3L1 "I For detachably securing theclosurjeifiapjlTin the positionshown in Fig-.3 and sothat the front.

section, It cannot accidentally open, I'p'rovid'e a simple andpractical fastening means a part of Y which is integral with thejclosureflap ll, anolanother part of whichjis integral, with? the front section 5.. The latter partv comprises "a keeper strapi2il, formed from the" front jsectionjlfi' by slotting the paper. 'atfl'pa'rallel spaced, points; as indicated at 2| a'nd 22' and then bendingjthe strap'at its ends Isothat when the" front:se ction is'folded on the back section (Fig. 2) :the. strap will be raised from the outer surfaceof the' front section fora purpose to'rbe described hereinafter.

That part'of the fastening means integral with the closure flap l1 maybe in'the-form-of an H-shaped extension 23, with .theparallellegs 24 thereof "extending at' one end from the free edge of the closure'flap; and the transverse or bridging portion 25 connectingthe legsmedially of "their ends.- .A locking tongue 26, preferably tapered, is formed from that portionofthe paper between the legs 24 and the transverse portion 25, and being an integral part of the closureflap is attached thereto at one end. i

' 'In use of the aforedescribed package; the article 'ofmerchandise (indicated at A in Figs. 4, 5;an-d 6)"of suitable siZet'o be accommodated in-the package, is placed on the back section l5, and then the ends flaps I8 are folded inwardly to overlie the article and confine it against endwise displacement from the package. This is followed by the front section 16 being folded over on the end flaps, and then the closure flap I1 folded to overlap the front section.

However, prior to this last described operation the extension 23 is folded transversely along the scored line 26a so that those portions of the legs 24 beyond the transverse portion 25 are doubled back and disposed beneath the other leg portions, as illustrated in Fig. 6. This manner of folding the extension provides the advantage of giving a double thickness to the leading end of the extension, thus reinforcing it and facilitating its extension beneath the raised strap 26.

The free or leading end of the extension 23 is, by flexing it in the manner shown in Fig. 6. now extended first through one slot 21 and then the other 22 so as to be disposed between the strap 28 and the front section [6. In its fully extended final position as determined by its length, the transverse portion 25 of the extension has passed to such a point from under the strap 26 as to permit extension of the free end of the tongue 26 beneath the transverse portion at a point between the legs 2% (Fig.

With the parts of the fastening means interengaged as described, it will be clear that any tendency of the closure flap I? to open will exert a pull on the extension 23 in the direction of the closure flap tending to withdraw it from beneath the keeper strap 20. But inasmuch as the tongue 26 is extended over the strap and beneath the transverse portion 25, the tongue coacts with the strap to resist any withdrawing movement of the extension, and thus the fastening means is locked against accidental unfastening and the closure flap secured in closed position. Manifestly, with the closure flap secured in closed position the other parts of the package are retained in their respective positions against accidental opening so that the package as a whole is retained in enveloping relation to the article contained therein to prevent loss of the article from the package.

The security with which my fastening means retains the package against accidental opening, is such that even under the roughest handling such as when the package is transmitted through the mail, it will not open, and yet when desiring to remove the article from the package this can be easily and quickly effected by withdrawing the tongue from beneaththe transverse portion 2 5 for this allows the extension to be withdrawn from beneath the strap 23 and the closure flap opened.

Referring now to the other form of package embodying my invention as shown in Figs. '7 to 10, it is identical to the first form except as to the structure of the fastening means. Whereas in the first form the entire fastening means may be struck from the sheet of paper or cardboard from which the other parts of the package are formed and at the same time, the structure of the fastening means of the second form necessitates two operations to form it and two pieces of paper or cardboard.

In the second form of package the extension indicated at 30 is of generally rectangular form and integral with the free edge of the closure flap, and, hence, may be made from the same sheet as the other parts of the package and simultaneously therewith. This extension is formed with an opening 31 nearer the free end thereof, and of such size as to permit the extension therethrough of a locking tongue 32.

The tongue 32 which is likewise of paper or cardboard, is formed separately from the remainder of the package and attached at one end to the extension 36 by an adhesive or a staple, and in such position on the extension as to be extendable across the strap and into the opening 3|.

To interengage the parts of the fastener and lock the closure flap I! in closed position, the extension 30 is passed through the slots 2| and 22 and beneath the strap 20 to expose the openmg 3| to the further edge of the strap. The tongue 32 is now extended over the strap and then into the opening 3! so that its free end is disposed beneath the projecting position of the extension (Fig. 10). As so disposed the tongue coacts with the strap to resist any withdrawing movement-of the extension in the same manner as described in connection with the tongue 26, and thus the closure flap is locked in closed position. Similarly, the closure flap can be released for opening of the package by merely withdrawing the tongue from the opening 3| Although I have herein shown and described only two forms of packages each embodying my invention, it is to be understood that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of my invention and the spirit and scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

A package comprising: a blank of paper or like material having a back section; a front section foldable on the back section, a closure flap; end flaps on the ends of the back section foldable inwardly between said front and back sections; and fastening means for securing said closure flap folded on said front section, comprising a strap secured at its ends to said front section, an H-shaped extension on said closure flap foldable transversely along a line coinciding with that edge of the transverse portion thereof adjacent the closure flap, said extension extenda'ble in its folded form beneath said strap a distance sufficient to project that edge of said transverse portion nearest the closure flap beyond that edge of said strap furtherest from the closure flap, and a tongue on said closure flap between the legs of said extension, said tongue extendable over said strap and th'e'nbeneath said transverse portion at that projecting edge thereof nearest the closure flap.

MILTON *r. MARLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 604,419 Rousseau May 24, 18 98 484,674 Fernandez Oct. 18, 1892 461,000 Thatcher et al Oct. 13, 1891 649,768 Sheriff May 15, 1900 1,655,460 Galbraith et al Jan. 10, 1928 965,269 Zasmeta July 26, 1910 1,670,647 Alter May 22, 1923 847,295 Randall Mar. 12, 1907 

